1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for performing the lamination of ceramic green sheets encountered in the process of production of ceramic electronic components of laminated type.
2. Description of the Background
As a typical example of a conventional ceramic electronic component of laminated type, there is a laminated ceramic capacitor. Generally, laminated ceramic capacitors are produced in the following manner:
(1) Punching out rectangular ceramic green sheets; PA1 (2) Printing internal electrodes on rectangular ceramic green sheets; PA1 (3) Drying printed internal electrodes; PA1 (4) As shown in FIG. 4, alternately laminating ceramic green sheets 2a having internal electrodes 1a and ceramic green sheets 2b having internal electrodes 1b formed in a pattern which differs from that for the internal electrodes 1a; PA1 (5) Rearranging said laminated ceramic green sheets on the basis of their contours; PA1 (6) Putting thus obtained laminate of ceramic green sheets in a die and pressurizing said laminate; and PA1 (7) Cutting the laminate to form chips which are to become individual laminated ceramic capacitors and subjecting said chips to the steps of firing the same and forming outer electrodes thereon so as to provide desired laminated ceramic capacitors.
However, in the method of producing laminated ceramic capacitors described above, after rectangular ceramic green sheets are punched out in the step (1), the printing of internal electrodes is effected in the step (2). Therefore, if misregistration takes place during the printing of internal electrodes, since lamination is effected on the basis of the contours of the ceramic green sheets in the step (5), there is no opportunity of such misregistration being corrected, so that misregistration is brought into final products. Thus, in laminated ceramic capacitors, there tends to be a scatter in the resulting capacitance.
In the step (5), rearrangement of ceramic green sheets is effected in their laminated state as by applying vibrations thereto to cause their contours to coincide with each other. However, since the mechanical strength of ceramic green sheets is relatively low, the degree of accuracy of lamination cannot be increased. This also forms a cause of the scatter in the capacitance obtained.
After the step (5) has been performed and before the step (6) is performed, misregistration sometimes takes place in the deliberately rearranged ceramic green sheets during the handling of the laminate of ceramic green sheets.
After all, the above-mentioned undesirable phenomenon brings about deviation from the desired position of material films which are to become electrical elements, such as internal electrodes, formed with a predetermined pattern, thereby lowering the quality of the ceramic electronic component of laminated type formed of such laminate.